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| Hiking | 5.11 Miles |
497 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.11 Miles | 1 Hour 58 Mns | | 2.60 mph |
| 497 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Early morning hike in Sedona. Not what I had planned. I was initially going to do the Schuerman Trail, but I had a hard time identifying the TH in the darkness. (It’s literally right across from the high school on the east side of the road). I kept driving, until I came across a TH I could identify. It turned out to be the TH for the Scorpion/Pyramid Trails. This would work and allow me to explore an area I’ve never been in before.
Got on the trail just before 5am. The TH had a great map of Sedona and then a smaller map of the localized trails. I had to use my phone light to look at the local map to see how the trails interacted. There was enough light to see the trail, but any distant views were nonexistent for the first 10 minutes. The trail goes in about 50 yards before reaching the Scorpion/Pyramid juncture. I decided to take the Scorpion to see how it tied in with the Schuerman Trail. The Scorpion Trail takes off to the north, gaining about 150 feet in the first mile as it wraps around the lower base of Pyramid Mountain. The trail will slowly veer to the west following the contours of the mountain and as it does so you’ll see a saddle that separates Pyramid from Schuerman Mountain. At about 1 mile the trail will reconnect to the Pyramid Trail. This juncture is just below the lip of the saddle.
The Scorpion Trail continues north, briefly losing elevation, before continuing to climb along the slopes of Schuerman Mountain. The red rock and dirt, that had been dominant throughout started to blend with the more ubiquitous black lava rock. I’ve always taken this as a telltale sign that I’m on the edges of Sedona. Though the trail does gain about 500 feet, in an odd way I felt like the mountain came to me. (This sensation was the result of, as I climbed, so did the road and the surrounding land to the east so it never felt like I was gaining elevation from that perspective). The trail ends around 2 miles when it connects with the Schuerman Trail, figuratively at the back door of the Sedona high school. I followed the Schuerman down to the TH which looks to be on school property. The small parking area at that site has been fenced off. You have to exit the school grounds, cross the street to reach the “roadside shoulder parking” described in the Schuerman Trail description. (Incidentally, this is also the TH for the Herkenham, Overeasy and the Skywalker Trails. There is only enough parking for 3-4 cars at this spot, but about .1 miles up the road is parking lot for the Sedona Trail shuttles which could easily accommodate any overflow).
Returning the way I came, I hiked back to the Pyramid Trail and took that back to the TH. This supposedly added .3 miles to the hike, but was totally worth it. I’m not sure if the Scorpion Trail got a bum wrap because I was hiking it in the pre-morning dimness, but I loved the Pyramid Trail. From the Scorpion/Pyramid juncture you’ll climb a few feet and then walk along the saddle for about .2 miles. I was unsure what to expect, being on the “outskirts” of Sedona, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that the red rock features not only persisted but dominated. As the trail goes along the saddle a small canyon opens up at its feet and the trail descends sharply down into this red rock wonderland. The distant views are breathtaking. Cathedral rock is framed nicely by the canyon walls and dominates for the entirety of the trail. It’s almost hard to appreciate that the red rock layering of Pyramid Mountain is outstanding in its own right. Truly an unexpected slice of Sedona.
Not what I planned, but it turned out to be a great hike. A lot of “undone” trails in this area that will be bringing me back for awhile.  Scorpion was nice, with some decent views of Cathedral, Capitol Butte, and Munds/Lee Mountains in the distance. To be fair, I should probably hike it in the daytime to see all that it has to offer. Really enjoyed Pyramid. Worthy of repeat visits. Except for four deer I had the trails to myself.  |
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Route Editor
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